Local Health Reports

Harford County 2018 Community Health Needs Assessment– This document, which is updated every three years, is an overview of our community health needs. It is a cooperative data project between the Harford County Health Department, Upper Chesapeake Health, and Healthy Harford to help prioritize our most pressing health needs. This document is used county wide to focus energies and resources towards addressing these areas of concern.

State Health Improvement Process (SHIP) The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) (otherwise known as the State Health Department) State Health Improvement Process (SHIP) is a set of 6 vision areas and 39 objectives that are used to set State health goals. See Health Improvement Processes on our main menu for more details on the process.

SHIP profile for Harford County This interactive page on the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) site allows users to access health information on all jurisdictions in the State. To access information on Harford County enter Harford County in the box labeled “View SHIP site by County” – the second rectangle from the top. Click view, and then select a topic from the gold circles.

Local Health Improvement Coalition (LHIC) – Lead by the Harford County Health Department in partnership with Healthy Harford and UM Upper Chesapeake, the Harford County LHIC focuses on three priority community health concerns: Family Health and Resiliency, Chronic Disease and Wellness, and Behavioral Health. Membership on the LHIC committees is open to the public. If you are interested in serving on a committee, contact Ronya at Ronya.nasser@maryland.gov.

Foundational Reports

Harford County Public Schools School Wellness Plan. In 2004, Congress passed the Child Nutrition and Women Infants and Children (WIC) Reauthorization Act (Sec. 204 of P.L. 108-205). This act required by law that all local education agencies participating in the National School Lunch Program or other child nutrition programs create local wellness policies. The legislation places the responsibility of developing a wellness policy at the local level so the individual needs of each local education agency can be addressed.

Obesity Resolution As obesity rose to become a major health concern, Harford County County Council adopted a resolution to address this pressing public health issue. The legal resolution was sponsored by then Councilwoman, now Delegate MaryAnn Lisanti, and adopted by whole Council On October 18,2011. This resolution recognizes obesity as a health epidemic in our community, and institutes an Obesity Task Force to “review and make recommendations concerning the programs and policies for creating a healthier Harford County….” The Obesity Task Force was tasked with producing a report to the Council within one year’s time.

Obesity Task Force Final Report The Obesity Task Force presented its Final report to County Council on October 2, 2012 as to its recommendations on how to improve the health of the Harford County community. Much of the work leading up to this report was done in three workgroups; Built Environment, Access to Healthy Foods, and Community Engagement. Details regarding their work can be found under the Obesity Task Force heading on the menu bar. The Obesity Task for was disbanded having completed its work. The Workgroups continue however under the Local Health Improvement Plan; see below